The Improv Program
Level 1
This class teaches the basics of the iO style of improvisation as created by Del Close and Charna Halpern.
Cost: $275
Level 2
Here you will build on the teachings of Level 1 while allowing you to discover your strengths; it focuses on character creation, “the group mind” and object/environment work.
Cost: $275
Level 3
This class concentrates on the two-person scene, the anchor of long-form improvisation.
Cost: $275
Level 4
This is where you use all the skills you have acquired thus far in order to create the Harold, the signature long-form structure at iO.
Cost: $275
Level 4B
The advanced Harold level, here you will probe even deeper into the form, focusing intensely on the acting, editing, and group commitment that it takes to generate a 30-minute piece. There is 1 performance at the end of this level.
Cost: $275
Level 5
This class looks at other advanced types of long-form improvisation such as the Deconstruction, the Mosaic, the Bat, Close Quarters, the Living Room and more.
Cost: $275
Level 5B
This final level allows students to use their newly acquired improvisational skills to create an original long-form show. Performance Class shows run in the Del Close Theater for six or seven weeks after the class has ended.
Cost: $275
The Writing Program
Level 1 - Talk Show Portfolio
Learn to write jokes (or two-liners) based upon the events of a given week. From this basic skill, the student heightens and explores the process into writing monologues and then onto the more formidable process of creating all the elements for a state-of-the-art portfolio, suitable for submission to a given talk show in pursuit of a TV writing job, or to an agent in pursuit of literary representation.
Taught by Nate Herman
Cost: $300
Level 2 - Sketch Writing
Learn to write sketches, after the style of “Saturday Night Live,” using the show’s current cast. The basic components of a typical episode of SNL becomes the elements for the students’ own SNL portfolio: Cold Opening sketches, monologues, Weekend Update pieces, TV and film parodies, cast pieces, digital shorts, etc… With a special emphasis on rewriting and marketing said packet in the later half of this eight week course.
Taught by Nate Herman
To sign up for Level 2, you must have completed Level 1 of the Writing Program.
Cost: $300
Level 3 - Spec Script
Still the most popular way for agents to judge writers (and whether they’re worth representing) is creation of a script, written on speculation, of an existing situation comedy—the Sitcom Spec. This eight week course takes the student through all the various stages: pitching, outlining, writing, rewriting, and offers each student the opportunity to stage a live reading of his or her spec.
Taught by Nate Herman
To sign up for Level 3, you must have completed Levels 1 & 2 of the Writing Program.
Cost: $300
Level 4 - Sitcom Pilot
Nate would like to announce a new Level 4 class. Another 8 week TV comedy writing session that requires completion of the first 3. In this workshop, attendees will discuss and write their own original sitcom pilot script as well as brief outlines of 6 other episodes of the same proposed show. The format will be the same as Level 3 in terms of outlining and writing the script. Everyone in class will have input into everyone else's script.
Cost: $300
Electives
Musical Improv
This workshop is good for anyone from the beginner who doesn't feel comfortable singing to the expert who loves to sing. If your goal is to improve, you will. Exercises cover the range from group sonic explorations to solo songs, from rhyming choruses and choreography to truth in comedy with music. The focus is on applying the basic long form tools of agreement and group mind to the realm of music. This is a very organic connection. Finding the games of things, making patterns, keeping a rhythm, and supporting your teammate's moves are essential to good improv and become even more relevant when the stakes are heightened to the point that music becomes necessary. Finding the truth in a moment brings even more rewards. The class will perform a final show in the Del Close theater at the end of the eight weeks.
8 weeks
18-person cap
Cost: $175
Solo Performance
Students will develop original performance pieces for one person shows, showcases, and auditions. They will create material through improvisation and short writing exercises, working both as a group and one-on-one with the teacher. Exercises will focus on taking the smallest ideas and expanding them into grounded, unique characters with strong points of view. The the eight-week session will culminate with a one-night showcase in front of an audience, where each student will present an original work.
Cost: $275